Squids Odyssey (3DS eShop) Review

We liked?

Fun game!

Quick to pick up and play

Charming characters and story

Not so much?

Not a whole lot of new content for Squids aficionados

Final Fiendish Findings?

Squids is no newcomer to the mobile gaming scene. In fact, the original game debuted on the Apple App Store back in October 2011. This enhanced version is now available on Nintendo platforms, the Wii U and 3DS, specifically. We had the privilege of checking out the 3DS version, and this is our review! For those unfamiliar […]

Squids is no newcomer to the mobile gaming scene. In fact, the original game debuted on the Apple App Store back in October 2011. This enhanced version is now available on Nintendo platforms, the Wii U and 3DS, specifically. We had the privilege of checking out the 3DS version, and this is our review!

For those unfamiliar with the previous Squids games, the easiest way to describe them is to have you imagine an overhead version of Angry Birds with some turned-based strategy mixed in.

You control a quartet of underwater heroes, as you slingshot them across the levels, using their tentacles, to defeat enemies and accomplish the level’s objectives. You can control the direction and intensity by using either the stylus or circle pad. I started off using the stylus, but after trying the circle pad, I found it to be both a little more precise and more comfortable.

Your Squids party can consist of four different character classes (shooter, scout, trooper, and healer), each with their own unique skills and perks.

If you’re familiar with turn-based tactical games like the XCOM series, Squids Odyssey works similarly. Typically, each squid has a limited number of moves before you’ll need to switch to another character, or end the turn, before it’s your opponent’s turn.

Players are awarded bonus points for being clever with their moves. For example, damaging multiple enemies by bouncing one into another, awards you extra points, which are tallied up at the completion of the level.

There are also obstacles, like spiked objects, and enemies that explode when killed, like the lobster, and sometimes rushing through a level with an action-only plan in mind may result in a objective failure.

The game is full of charming characters with witty personalities and dialogue. While the story and character conversations are completely skippable and are not necessary to complete the game, I do encourage you to refrain from hitting that skip button, as they’re quite enjoyable.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see that Squids Odyssey took advantage of the 3DS’s 3D capabilities. With Nintendo having released the dimensionally-reduced 2DS system, which plays games designed for the Nintendo 3DS but eliminates, what some feel is a novelty, the glasses-free 3D, I was expecting that feature to be struck from the game.

Squids Odyssey includes all of the content from the previous mobile releases of the Squids games, featuring more than 90 levels, separated into different chapters (Squids of the Caribbean, The Wet Wild West, The Wild Hunch, Six Squids Under, Red Squid’s Redemption, One Upon a Time in the Sea, Little Big Squid, and Rising Squid). If you’re an experienced Squids player, there isn’t a whole lot of new content for you (outside of the dual-screen, 3D perks of the 3DS format), but there is a Pro Mode for an extra challenge.

The 3DS and the Wii U versions of Squids Odyssey are identical, minus the obvious screen sizes and features (like HD resolution on the Wii U, and 3D functionality on the 3DS). While I cannot verify this myself for accuracy, I’m passing along the hearsay from others. According to the official Facebook page, at least in Europe, Squids Odyssey is also considered to be a cross-buy game: buy it for either the 3DS or Wii U and be able to download to play it on the other system for no additional cost. So, yay for the UK!

Squids Odyssey is available from the Nintendo eShop for $14.99. If you’ve already played the previous releases, like the games for iPhone and iPad, I’m not quite so sure I’d recommend purchasing this unless you feel you’d enjoy an all-in-one compilation of the earlier titles on a 3D-enabled handheld is worth the $14.99, as there really isn’t a lot of new content. Newcomers, on the other hand, will enjoy this, as well turn-based tactical gamers. The story and characters are charming, too, and more effort was put into the port to the 3DS than other eShop games that I’ve played, so I definitely recommend checking it out.

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